


Much Ado About Texting

by karlamartinova



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Awkwardness, F/M, Unexpected Promts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 05:01:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12904626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karlamartinova/pseuds/karlamartinova
Summary: So much can happen when one under influence of alcohol has a phone in hand.





	Much Ado About Texting

**Author's Note:**

> Drunk texting, oh how much awakwardness did I endure for this particular fault of mine. Anyway, some random generator gave me 'drunk digital proposal' and few hours later this happened. No beta, sorry.

“I love you, Miller,” the message said and no matter how Ellie turned it around, it still sounded the way she imagined it. The only other plausible explanation was that this was some kind of a joke. Not Hardy, he didn’t have stomach for these kind of things, but maybe Daisy. She couldn’t say she understood teenagers so that was a distinct possibility. In the end she decided it would be best to ignore the message and just ask Hardy directly whether he sent it himself or not. If it was supposed to be a grant declaration of love, he ought to look at her differently, right?

“Mom, where are my socks?” Tom yelled unnecessarily loud since he was standing two feet from her and Ellie almost dropped her phone from the fright. She really need to talk to Tom about losing his things, and yelling. Regaining her composure, both from being scared half to death and finding the message, she turned toward him.

“Where they always are, in the sock drawer. And hurry up, grandad is with Freddie at the shop, I’m dropping you at school in ten minutes,” she gave him a quick mom-look before moving to the fridge hoping to find there something that can be passed as breakfast. There were however only empty shelves. Well, she did send her dad to shops for a reason.

Then she remembered there was some knackebrot somewhere in the back of her cupboards and she quickly scanned them. Thoughts of Hardy were following her like a ghost. Could he love her? They were friends, well, as much as you can be a friend with such an introverted man as he was. Hardy tolerated her, spent time with her without complaining. That could mean something. But love? Ellie couldn’t imagine him saying it in such a way. She could imagine his face hiding behind a bouquet of flowers, across her in a restaurant, next to her on the terribly impractical couch he had at his place. 

“I love you, Miller,” his lips would be saying and his eyes would be honest. She could see it, at least in her fantasy, but reality was a completely different page of the book. He was her boss, her friend, maybe she could imagine loving him back but this was still a misunderstanding Ellie still wasn’t entirely sure she wants to clear out.

Tom’s shuffling brought her back from her daydreaming. “I’m ready,” he yelled already putting on his shoes.

“Manners,” Ellie mumbled and followed him already forgetting about her breakfast.

“It won’t be weird. I won’t be weird,” she repeated over and over in her head while she drove Tom to school, repeated it aloud in the car once she was alone and continued this mantra in her head on her way to her desk dreading the moment she would catch a sight of Hardy. Ellie willed herself not to look but did the next moment. She wouldn't be the one behaving cowardly in this situation. She had done nothing.

He wasn’t there. This happened only once and she was halfway through dialing Daisy’s number when she stopped. She would know if something happened, Hardy had her down as his emergency contact, the hospital would call. Ellie still put her phone in her line of vision.

It was almost nine when she heard the unmistakable accent of her boss-turned-friend.

“I’m fine, Dun. I could find my office on my own. Thank you,” he was mumbling when she looked up. A tall bearded man was following him with his hand on his shoulder. He was smiling, Hardy looked like he could kill someone and then die as well.

“I told ya, lad. Just want to see ya little lass,” the man’s accent was even thicker than Hardy’s and she had to smirk at the horror on his face. She would bet her knickers that this man could tell her stories with which she could tease her boss forever. Her morning dilemma already forgotten she jumped up and approached the scots.

“Good morning, sir. You look like you need a good cup of tea. Would you like some too, Mr…?” she smiled at them waiting for anyone to do the introductions. Hardy paled but the man put his hand forward and she took it.

“Duncan McLeary, lass. You must be DS Ellie Miller, as lovely as the stories tell,” he said with a grin and Ellie couldn’t help but blush. “I would love a cuppa but I should’ve been on my way to Glasgow already. Just wanted to get my lad safely to work, we were reminiscing a little too much last night.”

He hit Hardy on his back and winked and her boss looked both pale and flushed. It was a very unusual combination.

He was about to say something, opened his mouth halfway to an argue when Duncan leaned down to her conspiratolly and whispered loud enough for him to hear: “You’ve to excuse my lad here, he was blindingly drunk when he sent you the message. I’m sure he’ll clear it out later.”

Ellie looked up surprised but upon seeing Hardy’s face she quickly composed herself. “What message?” she asked looking between them. The relief on his face was immediate, and very telling. Duncan started laughing. “Well, you see, I’ve to rush. Nice meeting you, Ellie,” his words were followed by a bone crushing hug, a shoulder squeeze for Hardy and he was gone.

People around were still staring at the place that was few minutes occupied by a large scot when Hardy asked: “Didn’t someone mention a tea?”

Ellie was absolutely sure that was the end of it. She buried each and every fantasy of those words, of any and every possibility of Hardy liking her more than a friend and tried to go on. It was slightly harder than she thought. Once the idea was in her head, it was difficult to get it out, especially if she was spending more time with him that was usual for any DI and DS. She almost cancelled out their Sunday dinners and Thursday’s movie nights but she liked them and so did Tom and Fred. Her sons got used the grumpy scot and she didn't want them to suffer because she read something from an innocent, and sent obviously in a very inebriated state, message. So she went on as if she never read it, never imagined how she could feel, how lovely it would be to have him closer.

It was one of the Sunday evenings when Daisy with a very fresh driver’s license decided she wanted an ice cream and after a short fight with Hardy, Ellie handed her car keys with a glare firm on his face. Tom and Fred decided to join her and she was left with cleaning up the kitchen. She didn’t want to think that they left her alone with him.

The sink was full of dirty plates when he finally decided to join her. “You done sulking?” she asked over her shoulder to glare at him. She really got why he was worried about Daisy but sometimes he really ought to cut the girl some slack. How is she supposed to learn when he never lets her? Maybe it had something to do with the way her dad used to treat her, but Ellie felt she needed to be on her side on this.

But he wasn’t looking at her, instead he was looking down on his phone. For many unknown reasons, she froze and gripped the edge of the sink. Hardy moved and she could hear him nearing, around the counter, along the cupboard and then she could see his feet on the side. This was stupid, her reaction was stupid. He was probably checking his messages, maybe was flipping through Tinder looking for someone to go out with. Still. It was still a sore subject for her.

“Miller, I know you have read the message. Well, at least I know I have sent it, so it means you have to read it,” he said finally and Ellie could feel everything crash around her. It was an unknown sensation, when you want something so much and yet you’re dreading the moment because it can go many different yet unknown ways. They say it’s when the second shoe drops, but she thinks that completely inaccurate. It makes so much more noise.

She turned to him, gripping the sink from the other side. “Did you remember?” Ellie asked because it was the farthest from what she really wanted to know. ‘Is it true?’ was the question she wanted to ask so badly but fear and cowardice prevented her from it. She didn’t want things to change and yet, the hope beating around in her chest was a different sign.

Hardy shook his head. “These have sent messages as well,” he answered shaking his phone choosing to state the obvious as well. But then changed his mind as quickly and dropping the offending machine on the counter. He then took the smallest possible step towards her. “I’ve seen you face when Duncan mentioned it, and yet you choose to act as it didn’t happen and I was so bloody relieved.”

Ellie almost forgot to breathe. Was it happening? Did this mean that he didn’t mean it? Why was he explaining? One voice over the other was screaming in her head and he was still slowly moving, his hand on the counter each second closer to hers.

He also looked about to be sick.

“And you continued to do so, no teasing, no asking and for a moment I thought I imagined it whole, that there never was Duncan asking me about you, daring me to tell you. For weeks I was scared to look, to be sure,” he looked stricken, he was telling her something he never planned on. And as Ellie watched the emotion play out in his eyes, she knew he was expecting a rejection.

“So why did you?” she whispered slowly releasing the hold on the counter.

He looked up abruptly finding her eyes with his. She wasn’t sure what he saw there but he answered. “I didn’t want to be a coward anymore.”

She didn’t need more, didn’t need to wonder anymore about what he wanted to say next, what he meant, all the walls holding her back crumbled down and she reached for him before he had a chance to continue, to say things she didn’t want to hear. She needn’t to be worried, as soon as her hands touched the skin of his neck, his found their way around her waist. It was her who kissed him first but he opened her lips with his, slid his tongue in her mouth and then it felt far better than she could ever imagined it.

This was Hardy, someone she could never call by his first name because this was them, Hardy and Miller and she knew every single important thing about him, she knew that it the worst possible scenario came to happen, he would be there. They were though it and without him, she wouldn’t have her boys, wouldn’t have this life and he never ever wanted something in return. Maybe simply to love her and Ellie gave in happily.

“Ellie,” he murmured in her neck and she had to laugh because yes, it made a complete sense.

He leaned back and looked at her grinning face. “Did I do something funny?” his voice was raspy and his accent thicker than anytime before and she couldn't help from touching every millimeter of his face. Her fingertips traced his lips, his chin, the spot under his eye and he closed both of them to feel her closeness. When he opened them, they both were grinning, ignoring everything around them.

Even the door being slammed open and three pairs of feet entering the house, only Daisy exclaiming loudly “I’m so gonna text this to Duncan” made them notice. Not that it mattered anyway. No one seemed to be bothered.


End file.
